Endless Love
by FrightenedLight
Summary: Percy Jackson is a world famous pop star. When his best friend dies in a tragic accident, Percy returns to his hometown after being gone for nearly a decade. After eight years, even the oldest of friends have become strangers and Percy must fight to reconcile with the ones that were once close to him and even more importantly, he must fight to regain the love he once left behind.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** Heavily inspired by "Forever My Girl"

 **Endless Love**

 **Chapter 1 -** **"Home sweet home, more or less."**

* * *

 ** _Preloque -_ _St. Lauderdale, New York, 2009._**

The sun was shining on the clear afternoon sky and the willow trees that surrounded the edges of the churchyard were waving softly in the summer breeze as the yard was buzzing with the happy chatter of wedding guests making their way inside a small chapel located at the edge of town. It was almost as if the universe knew that today was a big day for the small town and it's residents. Today was the day that the local golden boy and the pride of the town, Percy Jackson, would be getting married.

Percy was the son of the local priest. He had inherited most of his features from his father. His dark messy hair, his strong eyebrows and his mischievous yet warm smile were all similarities he shared with his dad, Peter. Even though Peter was the local priest and his job was to offer words of comfort during hard times and to bring the community together, he always had a small twinkle in the corner of his eye reminding the residents of the town to not take life too seriously. Maybe that was why he was so loved by the entire community.

Growing up, Percy had inherited the same twinkle and attitude his father carried. He was an aspiring athlete, a good student and a loyal friend, but most of all he was an excellent musician. Although he had never shown the musical side of him to the public before he had met Annabeth, ever since the two of them had started dating and went to the local karaoke place for a date where they had been spotted by a record label executive, Percy had constantly gotten more and more recognition in the music industry and had even signed a deal with Atlantic Records. He truly was on the road to becoming a superstar.

Inside the church in a small wing on the left hand side from the main entrance stood a door that simply read; Bride's Room.

On the back wall of the room there was a mirror in front of which sat a young blonde woman in a wedding dress. Her storm gray eyes sparkled with excitement and nervousness as her two bridesmaids, both dressed in identical blue dresses, were adding the finishing touches to her lipstick while pampering her with compliments. The blonde in the wedding dress was Annabeth Chase, the girl that Percy Jackson had fell madly in love with during his freshman year in High School. Now that they were both eighteen and graduated, they were taking the big leap together and getting married.

Annabeth was one of those girls that had it all. She was smart, funny and incredibly beautiful. She had graduated with honors and was planning on studying to become an architect, however she didn't spend all of her days with her nose dug deep in a book. She loved the outdoors and was often playing sports with her friends or just hanging out and about with Percy, helping the locals with whatever chores they happened to have.

Unlike Percy, most of Annabeth's features were inherited from her mother, Athene. Her blonde naturally wavy hair, her storm gray eyes and her soft smile were all signs that reminded people whose daughter she was. Her wholehearted laugh and the more carefree side of her attitude though were inherited from her now late father, Frederick or as everyone in town called him, Freddie Chase.

Sitting next to the opposite wall from the bridesmaids were a group of older women, most of them in their 60s. They were chattering excitedly.

"Can you believe our Percy is getting married to Annabeth here? Oh how I've waited for this day." One of them rejoiced.

"Oh, how cute it will be!" Another one echoed.

"Ms. Chase will be so proud!" The third woman stated.

Annabeth turned to face the elder women. "You ladies are giving me headache." She said, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The sparkle in her eyes and the nervous smile she gave them told everyone another story, she was anxious.

"Oh, don't you worry dear, everything will go great." A woman dressed in a bright red frock said reassuringly.

"It will be your perfect day!" Another woman from the group stated, smiling warmly at Annabeth.

She couldn't help but let her smile widen at the remarks. This would be her perfect day. She just knew it.

At the same time Percy's two groomsmen, whom also happened to be his best friends walked in. They were dressed in dark gray tailored suits complete with red bow ties. One of the boys walked straight over to the two bridesmaids as the other one, Jason, turned his attention to the group of older women.

"Well hello there girls, don't all of you look beautiful today?" He said, receiving giggles and winks from the women.

"Oh would you stop flirting with the elders?" Piper, one of Annabeth's bridesmaids and Jason's girlfriend pleaded with mock annoyance in her voice.

"Who are you calling an elder?" The trio of older women replied in unison, trying hard to play hurt. It was clear it was all in good fun. Meanwhile Grover, Percy's other groomsman, had spoken to Annabeth's other bridesmaid, Thalia.

"Piper -" Thalia started. "Can you finish up with Annabeth's lipstick? We'll only be a minute." She asked, with her eyes making it clear this was not a question. Piper nodded.

"You look amazing Annabeth." Jason said as he, Grover and Thalia walked out of the room. As Piper walked towards Annabeth, she spoke. "Do you think Percy is okay?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"Percy is fine. Im sure it's just some details they wanted to go over again on the last minute. You know how the boys are." Piper said reassuringly. Annabeth smiled wryly. She wasn't feeling exactly confident despite Piper's words. After a few long minutes Thalia walked back into the room, alone. The expression on her face was full of empathy.

The air in the room stilled, the happy chattering from the older ladies stopped and the tempature felt like it dropped below zero when Thalia spoke.

"Im so sorry Annabeth." She started.

"What is it? Is Percy okay?" Annabeth demanded.

"Percy is fine, it's just." There was a long silence. "He's not coming."

 **8 years later - New York, New York, 2017.**

Madison square garden was packed. It was the last location on Percy Jackson's - Forever is a long time - tour and everyone was expecting him to sing a few of his unreleased songs that he had been teasing to his fans for almost a full year now.

The lights that had shone bright neon green and blue lights onto the stage dimmed until only one spotlight lit a small portion of the stage. There in the blinding light with an acoustic guitar on his lap sat Percy Jackson, the now twenty six year old star that everyone wanted a piece of. Behind the stage a huge LED wall started shimmering with purple light.

"You guys have been an amazing crowd tonight." Percy spoke. "Do you want me to do one more song?" He asked, raising his voice towards the end of his sentence. The crowd cheered so loudly Percy was sure that everyone in Manhattan could hear it. "Allright then." He said, putting on his signature smile. His shirt was soaked with sweat and water after jumping up and down on the stage for almost an hour and a half, but he had to give the people one more song. A song they hadn't heard before.

A soft piano melody started playing in the background and Percy started to play his guitar. After a small intro he started singing.

 _Before I lay me down to sleep_  
 _I pray the Lord my soul to keep_  
 _I hope it's not too late for me, whoa_

 _Difference changing in the distance_  
 _Time consumes the image, oh_  
 _Difference changing in the distance_  
 _Time consumes our image, whoa_

 _Before I lay me down to sleep_  
 _I pray the Lord my soul to keep_  
 _I hope it's not too late for me, whoa_

 _Difference changing in the distance_  
 _Time consumes the image, oh_  
 _Difference changing in the distance_  
 _Time consumes our image, whoa_

When Percy stopped, the crowd roared.

"Thank you New York!" was all he said before making his exit.

All he could hear as he walked off were the faint "we love you Percy" screams and the overwhelming "Percy, Percy, Percy" chant coming from the crowd. It should have made him feel amazing. Like he was on top of the world. Instead, all he felt was empty and exhausted. Backstage his manager, Charles Beckendorf, was waiting for him.

"Quite a show you put on there, huh. Nothing like a hometown crowd, eh?" Charlie asked as he walked besides Percy. Percy took the towel his assistant was carrying and wiped the sweat from his face. "Im not from here Beckendorf." He sighed, shaking his head. "Im from a few towns over, not here at all." He answered.

Percy threw the now soaked towel to his manager. "Send a steak up to my room. Im starving." He muttered. Beckendorf stopped as the sweaty towel slammed to his face. "But the record label is hosting an afterparty and the executives are going to be there. You need to come." He tried to reason with no results. Percy just kept on walking down the hall towards the exit.

"At least tell Rachel you're not coming!" Charlie yelled to the distancing figure of Percy.

Percy just threw up a peace sign before he opened the exit doors and sat down onto the backseat of a black Range Rover SUV that was waiting for him on the parking lot.

"Where to, sir?" Asked the driver.

"Just take me back to the Four Seasons Hotel on 57th street." Percy advised.

"Yes, boss." The driver replied as he stepped on the gas and raced out of the parking lot before the paparazzi, or worse, overly eager fans found out where Percy Jackson was. They drove in silence through the city that never sleeps, weaving through the New York traffic, with the only sounds breaking the silence being the gentle hum of the engine, the occasional emergency vehicle's siren and the radio that was spewing out the news of the day.

"We are devastated that we have to report another fatal car crash to you listeners, but unfortunately it has happened yet again. A drunken truck driver swerved out of his lane and crashed head on with an oncoming car, killing St. Lauderdale resident and city official Jason Grace." A sudden burst of energy jolted through Percy. His hands were shaking and his whole body trembled.

"Hey Rob, turn that up, please." Percy asked, leaning forward so he could hear better.

"His hometown of St. Lauderdale has announced that they will hold an open memorial service tomorrow at noon in the St. Lauderdale chapel." The radio host finished.

Percy felt like his stomach was turning inside out. Jason Grace had been his best friend before he had left his hometown, and now he was gone. There would be no coming back home and talking things through with Jason. He was gone forever.

It didn't take long for Percy's mind to wonder on to the other people he had left behind in St. Lauderdale. Grover, his own father, Annabeth. How were they all doing? Were they all even alive anymore?

Percy's jacket pocket felt heavier and heavier each second. A burning need to grab his phone overwhelmed him. He opened the old, beaten up phone and navigated straight into his voicemail. There he found what he had been looking for. The reason he had kept the phone all these years.

"Rob." Percy addressed the driver. "I'll make sure you and your family can enjoy a nice two week vacation somewhere in the mediterranean if you drive me to St. Lauderdale right now and don't tell anyone where I am."

Percy saw that Rob was surprised by the request, but he didn't argue.

"Yes, sir. According to the GPS, if we take the back roads so we can avoid the more popular paparazzi traps, we will arrive at 11:00AM." Rob said, meeting Percy's gaze through the rear view mirror. Percy nodded his approval, and Rob made a U-turn.

As Rob drove away from the city lights Percy opened the one and only voicemail he had saved. A robotic female voice spoke through his phones speaker.

"You have one message from, June 8th, 2009." After a long beep the actual message kicked into action. A soft female voice spoke. It was obvious from the emotional tear in her voice that she had cried before she had made the call.

"Hey Percy.. -"

As he lifted the phone to his ear, Percy switched the voicemail to play through his phone's earpiece rather than the speaker. As New York's skyline slowly faded into the dark night sky behind them, Percy fell into his seat and listened to the same message over and over again.

 **Present time - St. Lauderdale, New York, 2017**

Percy arrived to the edge of the St. Lauderdale churchyard just as the last locals were making their way inside for the memorial service. Percy noticed that all of the guests were wearing black suits or dresses and most of them were carrying a bouquet of red roses, Jason's favorites, in their hands. He had been leaning against the hood of the SUV he had arrived in, but turned around to address the driver.

"Alright, im going to stick around for a while. You better get back to New York before anyone catches a drift of what is happening. If anyone asks, tell them you dropped me off at the hotel and haven't seen me since. I'll make sure you get your vacation soon." Percy said as he grabbed his bag from the backseat. There wasn't much in it. Just another outfit he had planned on putting on for the afterparty yesterday, but it was better than nothing.

Rob nodded, and drove off.

Percy waited a few minutes under one of the willow trees on the edge of the churchyard before he headed for the chapel. He wanted to make sure his entrance was not going to be noticed by anyone. When he saw that no one had entered the chapel in a few minutes, he decided it was time. As he walked towards the small church he could feel old memories he had suppressed surfacing again. He remembered the Sundays he, Jason, Grover, Piper and Annabeth had went to the chapel for Sunday service. He remembered the warm summer days when they had been five or six and had played hide and seek inside the church. He remembered how his father used to tell stories about how the chapel had been rebuilt after it burned down.

Percy shook his head, desperately trying to get rid of the memories, but it didn't help as not long after, another surfaced.

This time, it was the memory of when they had buried his mother, Sally Jackson, when Percy had been fifteen. He snapped out of this memory quicker. It was too hurtful to wallow in.

His eyes traced the outlines of the church. He had so many memories that were related to this town and it's people and yet he didn't feel like he belonged here at all. Moments before he had been confident in heading inside, but the closer he got and the more memories surfaced, the harder it became for him to move forward.

His stride slowed to a halt and he sat down onto the stairs that led to the main entrance of the church. He laid his bag down besides him and took a few deep breaths trying to collect his thoughts. He looked across the yard and spotted a familiar figure. He saw a white wooden swing that was hanging from one of the branches of the willow trees. Suddenly his mind jolted into another memory, this one the hardest of them all to handle.

He found himself reminiscing his wedding day. He and Annabeth had planned on taking their wedding photos here in the churchyard, with her sitting in that swing and with him behind her. Of course, because he had stood her up on the altar, that had never happened.

Percy buried his head into his hands and ruffled his dark hair. What was he doing here? This wasn't his home anymore.

He was just about to stand up and go inside the chapel when someone crashed into him. He tumbled back a little, but managed not to fall over. When he had collected himself from the crash his eyes met with the person who he had crashed with. There they were, staring into each other's eyes intently. Storm gray to sea green.

Even through his shock Percy could still notice her details. Her blonde hair was still wavy and a little over shoulder length. Her eyes were still the same shade of gray and she still had a few very faint freckles on her cheekbones and on her nose. Her eyebrows still furrowed the same way when she got confused. The only noticeable difference was that her body was curvier, still fit, but more feminine and mature than it had been 8 years ago. She was also holding a little girl's hand. The girl couldn't have been older than seven or eight and she had dark hair, accompanied by gray eyes similar to Annabeth's.

Annabeth was the first to recover from the initial shock.

"Excuse us." She said as she stormed past Percy and into the chapel. The little girl hesitated at the entrance and Annabeth turned around with a look of pure empathy on her face as she addressed the young girl.

"We're going to go in and give aunt Piper a big hug and then we can go sit next to Luke, okay sweetheart?" She said, caressing the child's cheek.

The girl nodded. Percy noticed how Annabeth squeezed the girls hand reassuringly as she led her into the chapel.

Percy stood frozen in place. He couldn't move, gods, he could barely breathe. He had seen Annabeth for the first time in eight years and she had acted like she hadn't even known him. Percy peered inside the chapel where Annabeth was now taking her seat next to a blonde haired man Percy assumed to be Luke Castellan. The man wrapped a comforting arm around Annabeth and squeezed her closer to his side.

Percy sighed and picked up his bag. He hadn't come here to reconcile with Annabeth or to ponder and judge her decisions. He was here to honor his late friends memory and that was exactly what he was going to do. He stepped inside and quietly made his way onto an indoor balcony at the very back of the church. No one ever used it, except when the chapel was full to the brim with people, and so it was the perfect dark corner he could sit in without being noticed.

The memorial service lasted an hour. A few people gave speeches, mainly Percy's father who was also the local priest, as well as Jason's girlfriend, Piper. After the memorial service was over, everyone brought the roses they had carried with them to the altar where Jason's picture stood. One by one, the visitors laid their bouquet of roses before Jason's picture and expressed their condolences to Piper and to Jason's family.

Percy thought that it would be best if he waited until everyone else had left and only then he would make his exit in order to avoid any more awkward reunions from occuring.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who had had the exact same idea. When he headed down the steps that lead down from the indoor balcony, he could hear two voices whispering to each other heatedly. Percy recognized one of the voices as Annabeth's and he assumed the other one was Luke's. Although his voice was still somewhat recognizable, it sounded a lot deeper. Percy stopped on his tracks, not sure if he should continue down or to stay put. It wasn't long until Annabeth, Luke and the young girl Percy had seen before came into his view.

"Percy's here." Annabeth whispered to Luke, with a shocked expression on her face.

Luke grunted. "Just stay away from him Annabeth."

Percy thought about turning back and heading up the stairs again, but Annabeth noticed him before he could move. Annabeth shared a quick look with Luke before turning her gaze back to Percy.

"Can you please take Sally to the car." Annabeth asked, her eyes fixated on Percy.

"Annabeth please, don't -" Luke started, but was interrupted by an annoyed look from Annabeth.

"Just let him be." Luke tried again, this time trying to guide Annabeth outside with his hand. When Annabeth smacked it down, he picked up the little girl and said. "I got you little one, I got you."

Luke walked out of the chapel, while shooting Percy an angry glance.

Annabeth waited at the bottom of the stairs for Percy. Slowly, feeling like his legs might give out from under him, Percy made his way down the steps until he was in front of her. He layed his bag down onto the floor next to him. He must have looked like a bum with his messy hair and dirty clothes, but he didn't care. He finally had the chance to talk things through.

"He-" He was interrupted by a strong punch to the gut before he could even finish his greeting. He crunched over in pain. Annabeth waited for him to recollect himself enough to be able to hear her words clearly.

"What the hell are you doing here, huh? Eight years with no contact and now you show up?" She snapped. She looked like she was ready to explode. She turned her gaze away for a moment, clearly trying her best to calm down. When she spoke again, her eyes held a new pain and sadness Percy hadn't seen in them before.

"You should have just stayed where you were. You don't belong here anymore." She said with a mixture of sadness and anger in her tone. Her words struck like a dagger piercing his heart.

She walked off without another word, leaving Percy with nothing but the faint smell of her fragnance. He grunted in pain as he collected himself some more.

As if his day wasn't already going badly, as soon as he was about to finally make his leave, another familiar voice spoke to him.

"Well hello, Percy." A harsh male voice said. He gazed in the direction of the voice and saw his father standing in the hall leading to the altar. _'Great, just what I needed.'_ He moaned internally.

"Hey, dad. Long time, no see, huh." He answered, and his father just grunted in response. Peter walked right past Percy, like he didn't exist, but when he turned back to see if he was following or not, Percy knew he should go with his dad. Neither of them said a word as they walked to the parking lot.

His last thought before he jumped into the big, old truck his father drove was;

 _'What have I gotten myself into..'_

* * *

What has Percy gotten himself into indeed..

As some of you probably already figured out, this story draws inspiration from the movie "Forever My Girl". For those that have seen the movie, there will be some references to the events of the movie in here, but the further the story progresses the more this story deviates from the plot of the movie.

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and look forward to more. Let me know what your thoughts are by leaving a review or shooting me a PM. I love interacting with everyone here. Cya all soon!

 **Disclaimer:** There is no copyright infringement intended in this story to any owners of the original content that has inspired this fanfic.

The song lyrics used for Percy's song in this chapter were from XXXTentacion's song - before I close my eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** Thanks for the massive support on the first chapter. I felt super happy to see that so many of you enjoyed it. SurprisinglyStillActive requested that I update quickly, so I did my best and here is the second chapter! Hope you enjoy.

 **Endless Love**

 **Chapter 2 -** **"Forgive, don't forget"**

* * *

 **Present Time, St. Lauderdale, New York, 2017**

Percy woke up when a blinding light invaded his dream. His eyelids slowly opened, letting the sunlight that beamed through the curtains hit his pupils. For a moment, Percy had no idea where he was. The room seemed vaguely familiar, but it didn't feel like his own. He tried to roll over in his bed, but ended up rolling straight down onto the floor. The harsh thump woke him up properly.

Percy pushed himself up from the floor. He sat down onto the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes to shake away the last remnants of his dream. Now that he was fully awake, he did recognize the room. It was his old room that he had slept in when he had still lived in St. Lauderdale. He was amazed that his dad hadn't thrown out a single thing he had left behind. The room was exactly as he remembered it from eight years ago.

His old medals he had won back in high school were still hung on the wall over his bed. His old wardrobe still stood where it always had - on the left hand side of his bed - and it still had the same mirror that was cracked from the lower right corner. Even his old school desk had stayed untouched. His old laptop was collecting dust in the middle of it, and a picture of Percy with both of his parents was sitting at the corner of the table. Percy recognized the photo.

It had been taken when he had been twelve and they had been out for a picnic at a nearby lake. They were all smiling so happily at the camera that Percy felt sick to his stomach. He missed his mother and he wasn't exactly close with his father. Looking at the picture was like looking at a dream he could never achieve.

Percy yawned heavily. He grabbed his bag that he had laid on his night desk. He opened the black gym bag and took out a fresh pair of white sneakers, a clean white T-shirt, a pair of ripped jeans and his trusty leather jacket. He had carried the black jacket around with him ever since he had bought it from a local tailor in Italy. It had a few marks of wear and tear on it, but for a six year old jacket, it was in great condition.

It didn't take long for Percy to change into his clothes. Before he headed downstairs to grab himself some breakfast, a strange desire struck him. Percy walked over to his school desk and opened his old laptop's lid. The laptop had been top of the line eight years ago when he had gotten it as a graduation present from his uncle, Travis, and he was curious to find out if the old machine even worked anymore.

He pressed the power button. Nothing.

He pondered for a minute. He looked around and spotted a power cable coming out of the laptop that wasn't plugged in. After plugging in the stray cable, he tried again. This time the computer let out a small beep before the screen turned from black to blue. Some white text and a progress bar appeared onto the screen. "Updating windows - Please do not turn off the computer."

 _'Eight years of windows updates?'_ Percy thought. _'Yeah, I think Im going to grab breakfast in the meantime.'_ He joked internally.

He headed out of his room, leaving the computer running alone.

Percy glanced down the hallway. Not much had changed here either since he had left. The only new addition to the second floor hallway was the new beige carpet running from one end to the other. He headed down the stairs, which brought him into the downstairs living room. The house was designed on an open floor plan, something Percy had learned from Annabeth back in the day, so there were no actual walls splitting the rooms apart from each other. The living room, kitchen and the dining area, were all a part of the same big room.

Percy walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the drawer. He looked out of the window and peered at the garden. It was clearly not looked after. There were no more roses and the various different flower arrangements that had been there before were now overrun by weeds. Percy filled his cup with coffee. Before he had more time to ponder on the fate of the garden, someone spoke.

"Morning Percy." His father said. He was sitting at the end of the dining room table casually reading a newspaper and sipping away on his cup of coffee. Percy looked at the clock that was hanging on the kitchen wall. It was 9:00AM. He must have fell asleep straight after the memorial service yesterday and slept right through the night. It was understandable though. Before he came to St. Lauderdale, he hadn't slept for more than a few hours for three days straight as he was finishing up his tour. He hadn't even slept during the ride from New York to St. Lauderdale.

"You slept like a log. Didn't want to bother you, so I didn't come tell you that breakfast is ready." His father continued nonchalantly, flipping over to the next page of the newspaper. Percy heard his stomach growl. He walked over to the dinner table and started preparing a few sandwiches for himself. Percy didn't really know what to say, but the atmosphere felt awkward so he muttered out the first thing that came into mind.

"What happened to the garden?" Percy asked while he spread peanut butter onto his loaf of bread. His father laid down the newspaper onto the table and took the last sip from his coffee before he stood up.

"I just couldn't keep up with it." He sighed, as he headed to the kitchen sink to wash away the dishes. It didn't take him long to wash his coffee cup clean.

"So, im going to go now, but I'll cook us supper when I get back." Peter said, as he grabbed his jacket from the rack in the hall. Percy stopped eating and turned around.

"You're just going to leave? Now? How am I even supposed to get around?" Percy spat out.

"You left for eight years without a word and I can't leave to work?" Peter huffed. "Besides, I think your old bike is still in the garage." He continued as he took his keys from the kitchen counter. "As I said, I'll cook us up some dinner once I get back. If you're still around." His father said blankly. Peter stepped out and closed the door behind him. Percy heard his father's truck start up and soon after he saw the old hunk of metal leaving the driveway.

Percy sighed. "Bike it is." He muttered to himself.

He finished up his meal and headed back upstairs. He glanced over at the computer. It was still updating. Percy walked over to his night desk and took his phone, dialing in the number of his manager. The phone rang a couple of times before a very upset Beckendorf answered.

"Where the hell are you Percy?!" He shouted. "Do you have any idea what -"

Percy drew the phone back from his ear and waited until he couldn't hear anymore shouting through the speaker. When he moved the phone back to his ear, he assumed Beckendorf had calmed down enough to listen to what he had to say.

"Im in my hometown. My best friend from High School just passed away and I attended his memorial service yesterday." Percy stated calmly. Percy could hear the change in Charlie's tone almost instantly.

"Oh shit. Im so sorry Percy." Beckendorf mumbled over the phone, clearly embarrassed that he had yelled over the phone to a person that was mourning the loss of their best friend. "Anything I can do to help?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. I need my credit cards and my wallet, I only have the twenty bucks I had in my pocket when I left." Percy said over the phone. "And I also need a car." He continued, almost laughing out loud at how stupid his own requests sounded.

"Sure, I'll overnight your wallet and credit cards to you, and I'll make sure you'll have a car by this time tomorrow. Just text me your address." Beckendorf replied without ever questioning Percy's requests.

"Alright." Percy replied, ending the call.

 _'Well, I guess I have no choice.'_ He thought as he headed out of the house and grabbed his old bike from the garage. It was in surprisingly good shape considering it's age. Without further thought of where he was headed or what he was doing, Percy got on the bike and pedaled towards town.

 **Present time, St. Lauderdale, New York, 2017**

When he arrived to the local supermarket no one seemed to notice him. No one seemed to care that he was there, heck, no one seemed to be aware that he existed.

 _'Well, that's a change from the norm.'_ Percy thought as he locked his bike. Usually, wherever he went there was always a huge crowd of people or paparazzi following him, or at the very least there were people who asked if they could take a picture with him, but here he was left completely unbothered. It was a strangely unnerving feeling to not have people notice him the way he was used to. He couldn't decide whether it was nice or creepy.

Percy made his way inside the familiar supermarket. Once inside, he headed straight for the beverages section, where he picked up bottle of beer, after which he headed towards the checkout. When he got close to the counter and could see who the cashier was, his jaw dropped.

"Grover?" He asked in disbelief. The brown haired man sitting on the other side of the counter looked up to him. His brown eyes bored into Percy's and Percy found it incredibly hard to hold his gaze.

"Im surprised you still remember my name." The cashier replied dryly while he read the barcode from Percy's product. "That would be $2.99" He continued nonchalantly. Percy handed him the twenty dollar bill he had in his pocket. When Grover grabbed it Percy noticed something strange about Grover's hands. The caucasian complexion of his skin was broken by a few nasty scars on both palms of his hands.

"So, uh.. You work here?" Percy asked. Grover looked up at him with a blank expression. "Im on leave from the local police force until the scars on my hands heal. Dealing with armed robbers is the nasty part of the job." He replied while handing Percy his change. "I decided to do some volunteer work here in the meantime. Gets me out of the house." Percy felt flabbergasted.

"You stopped an armed robbery?" He asked in disbelief. He could never look at his old friend the same again. "Grover that's huge. You must be a hero."

Grover shrugged.

"It's what I do. I help people, because I care about them." Grover replied, putting emphasis on the word care. Percy knew what his old friend was referring to. Percy had abandoned him and everyone else in the town for his own selfish needs.

Percy cleared his throat.

"Yeah.." Percy started, when an idea popped into his mind. "You don't happen to know where Annabeth lives or works, do you?" Percy asked.

He knew it was a long shot, but it was the best plan he could come up with for the moment. Grover handed Percy his beer that he had put inside a paper bag.

"Thanks for shopping at Bailey's." Grover replied with a forced smile. Percy just huffed and grabbed the paper bag.

 _'So much for helping out an old friend'_ Percy thought as he stepped outside of the supermarket. It was a hot day. The air felt still and kind of pressuring. Percy guessed it would probably start raining or thundering later. He sat down onto one of the benches that were located at equal intervals throughout the sidewalks that lined the main street. Percy sat there for a good while, sipping away at his beer. He waited for someone to notice him, for someone to recognize him and come ask for a selfie with the famous Percy Jackson, but no one ever came.

Percy glanced down the street. It was like looking back in time. Most of the buildings that lined the main street were old wooden houses that had been restored and were now used as various different storefronts. You could find everything you needed on this one street. A supermarket, a flower shop, a tailor & clothing shop and the local bar were just some of the idyllic buildings located on either sides of the main street. Beautiful flower arrangements were laid out on most of the terraces, and the american flag was hanging from the flagpole of the local restaurant. It was as if a piece of american history had been preserved in perfect condition. It would have been like a postcard view straight from the 80s if it wasn't for the modern gas station at the edge of town.

Percy gulped down the remains of his beer and stood up. He didn't know exactly how long had passed, but judging by the position of the sun he guessed it was probably a little over noon, which meant it would be lunch time soon. If old habits really did die hard, he knew where he would find Annabeth at this hour.

Percy walked over the street to the diner that was located opposite to the supermarket. It was nothing fabulous, just one of those good old roadside diner's where people came to grab a bite of lunch and where the local youth hung out in the evenings. He was just about to walk in through the sliding doors when a car beeped it's horn right behind him. Percy jumped a little. He hadn't expected the sound at all, since when he had crossed the road he hadn't seen any cars around at all. Percy looked over his shoulder and could spot the tail lights of a mustang heading away from the town center.

While still trying to peer over his shoulder at the distancing car, Percy walked forwards. He had forgotten that there was a small ledge at the edge of the diner's entrance and because he wasn't looking, he tripped on it and was sent tumbling forwards. As if the universe was set on making everything as hard as possible for him, Percy managed to bump into Annabeth, whom was carrying a takeout coffee cup in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. When Percy crashed into her, the papers flew out of her hands and her coffee spilled all over Percy. Some of it even landed on the papers that now laid on the floor.

"We seem to meet under the weirdest of circumstances.." Percy mumbled from the floor. He looked up at Annabeth who fumed with anger.

The beautiful blonde was dressed casually in a pair of jean shorts and a white shirt, and she had tied her long hair onto a ponytail with a white bandana. When she finally opened her mouth, the ice cold tone she spoke with sent shivers down Percy's spine.

"Good job." She started sarcastically. "You just managed to ruin a month worth of progress in a matter of seconds." She continued, pointing at the coffee tainted papers laying on the ground. Now that Percy had a closer look at them, he recognized them as blueprints.

"Im sorry, Annabeth, I didn't mean to -" Percy muttered. Annabeth shushed him with a single glare. She knelt down and started picking up the papers. Percy started to collect some of the papers too and to his surprise, Annabeth didn't stop him.

"So ugh, you're an architect now?" Percy asked as he handed the last of the blueprints to Annabeth. They both stood up.

"Yeah, I am. I actually did something with my life after you walked out on me." She said, looking him dead in the eye. "After you abandoned us." She finished.

"Us?" Percy asked, realizing what she had meant too late.

"The whole town. Your friends, your family, me." Annabeth snapped. "Here in saint we have each other's backs. The old you would have known that. He was the most loyal and trustworthy people I knew." She finished, with a sliver of sadness edging her voice. "But now -" She said, regaining her ice cold tone. "I don't know who you are anymore." She finished. Before Percy could reply Annabeth tried to walk past him. A blueprint slipped out of her grip though and landed near Percy's feet. He bent down and picked it up.

Percy studied the coffee tainted blueprint. It was a blueprint of a house. A big one at that. One that a family of three or four could comfortably live in and still have space for a guest room. "You designed this?" He asked half mindedly, never looking up from the blueprint. The floor plan was genius, revolutionary even. He had seen his fair share of houses and flats during his eight years of fame, but the space management displayed in this blueprint was something he had never seen before.

Only when Annabeth snatched the blueprint away from his hands did Percy wake up from his thoughts. He looked up at her.

"The floor plan on that blueprint is genius Annabeth, you know that, right?" He stated. Annabeth looked off guard. She hadn't expected his compliments. "And the sleek lines you had sketched for the forefront of the house were amazing too." Percy continued, not sure where he was going with it. Annabeth looked at him curiously.

"You really liked them?" She asked silently. Percy only nodded in return. She looked down for a moment and Percy saw a small smile flash on her lips.

"Could you maybe design a house for me?" He asked bluntly. He hadn't thought about what he was about to say before he had said it, but the truth was that he had been thinking of building a house of his own for a while now and perhaps more importantly, this could be the only way he had of talking with Annabeth, so he had to take it.

The smile from her face faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Percy, I can't -" She started, but was interrupted by the cheerful voice of a little girl. Percy turned around and spotted the same girl he had seen come into the church with Annabeth yesterday.

"Mommyy!" she yelled as she ran over and hugged Annabeth.

"Hey, Sweetheart." Annabeth replied with a forced smile on her face. It was obvious that Annabeth was happy to see her, but the nervous glances she took at Percy were snapping away from that joy. "How did you get off school so early. I was supposed to pick you up in a few hours, wasn't I?" Annabeth asked.

"We got out early!" The girl replied cheerfully. "We didn't have PE today at all, because Mr. Blofis was sick." She explained, while shifting her attention from Annabeth to Percy. "Who's he?"

"Just a friend - a Customer" Annabeth and Percy stammered on top of each other, sharing a quick glance. Percy looked at Annabeth trying to wordlessly say 'I got this', but he had no idea if Annabeth got the message.

Percy knelt down and held out his hand. "Im Percy. Percy Jackson." He said, shaking the young girls hand. "Im an old friend and -" He paused for a moment. "- Ugh, a customer of your mom's." He finished, looking over at Annabeth whom was practically dying of anxiousness, if Percy could still read her expressions right.

"Im Sally." The girl answered. "Aren't you that same singer my mom sometimes listens to?" She asked. Percy felt flabbergasted. He didn't know how to reply and looked over to Annabeth in surprise. She was red hot in the face.

"I sometimes have the radio on. Sometimes." She stammered, turning her gaze away from Percy.

"Oh.." He replied, still unsure how to continue. Annabeth addressed the little girl.

"Sweetheart, would you like to go get some ice cream? Luke is inside there, im sure he'd be delighted to buy you some ice cream." Annabeth asked, trying hard to force the softness into her voice. The girl hugged Annabeth again.

"You're the best Mommy!" She said, almost rushing away from Annabeth and Percy, but Percy had one more question.

"Hey Sally.. Before you go, how old are you?" Percy asked. A horrific thought had popped into his head and he needed to make sure that what he has thinking wasn't true. Sally looked shyly at Percy with her gray eyes.

"Im really small for my age, and my baby teeth still haven't fallen out like my classmates, but im seven." She said. Percy nodded, silently giving the child permission to leave. Even before Percy looked over at Annabeth he knew the answer to the thought that had popped into his head. When Percy finally mustered up the courage to look at Annabeth the answer was written all over her face.

"Seven, huh." Percy stated. "That means that she was conceived -" Percy cut off.

Annabeth stayed silent for a moment.

"You wouldn't answer my calls." She finally spoke with a hushed tone. Her answer laid the final nail into the coffin. It was now clear what the voicemail from eight years ago had been about. It was Annabeth calling him, that she was pregnant.

Sally, was his daughter.

* * *

So. Sally is not Luke and Annabeth's kid, but in fact, Percy's.

But, are Luke and Annabeth together, why didn't anyone tell Percy before that he had a daughter, how will all this affect Annabeth and Percy's already cold relationship? I guess you guys will have to wait and see.

Let me know what you guys thought by leaving a review or sending me a PM!

On a side note, I often update old chapters / earlier chapters with some fixed descriptive writing (for example, I played around with some paragraphs in Chapter 1) if I feel like something in them feels a bit off, or that they could use some polishing. Just a heads up, if you ever re read the story and find some new descriptive writing. The updates dont change the main plot at all, just adds more detail into the story in general. Anyway, hope to cya all soon!

 **Disclaimer** There is no copyright infringement intended in this story to any owners of the original content that has inspired this fanfic.

 **Replying to reviews;**

 **SurprisinglyStillActive;** I loved hearing that you liked the first chapter.I tried my best to update as soon as I could. I hope you like it!

 **WisePhoenix;** I know! It's sad isn't it, but I had to kill off someone and it couldn't be Grover since *spoiler alert* he will play a major role later. Im glad to hear you liked the liked the first chapter, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the first!


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